The driver of that McLaren M6A is still going strong. Lothar Motschenbacher (center) and Electric Dreams’ Scott Bader (left) were among the honored guests at the 2015 Can­-Am reunion. Now you can drive Lothar’s car (but probably not quite as well as he did).

Can-Am and Formula 5000 fans watched Lothar run with the best drivers of the day. He was a consistent top finisher in Can-Am point standings in 1966-1972 and competed successfully in Formula 5000 (the series for open-wheel cars with fuel injected detroit V8 power plants). Lothar was a privateer going up against the big boys with more money, bigger teams, and state of the art components! It was a great pleasure to meet Lothar personally and have a chance to hear of his exploits in the Can-Am series! Who knows where he would have been in the driver history books if he had the big bucks $$$?

The first to guess who the lovely ladies are with us get a FREE McLaren!!! Reply to this email with your answers.

– Scott Bader

We are extending last weeks deal!! Monogram 85­4841 1/32 scale recreation of Lothar’s McLaren M6B is only $14.95 for one more week. Limit two per customer. No dealers.

Monogram 85-4841 McLaren M6B, L. Motschenbacher

This is the fabulous, incredible, and accurately detailed, Monogram 85-4841 1/32 scale recreation of the famous McLaren M6B is only $14.95 for one more week. Limit two per customer. No dealers.

SCS-1 A DAY AT THE RACES, Slot Car Superstar, paperback book

206 pages, including 60 with color photos, 8.5 x 0.6 x 11-inches

“The book covers all aspects of slot car racing. From tuning up your slot cars and discussing true racing strategies, with never before published material and 60 pages of pictures. There is a bonus chapter with exclusive interviews with the most influential people in the slot car industry.

A Day at the Races shares true accounts of the author’s slot car racing experiences as we journey through the slot car racing world through his eyes. He shares what slot car enthusiasts experience when prepping, racing and then competing for a championship event.

GMC19 Lola Mk. I #45 LeMans 1960 RTR

The LeMans regulations specified a tall glass windshield. With a lower windshield the Lola Mk.I was the last of the successful front-engined 1100cc sports cars in America and in Europe, beating the Lotus 11s and Coopers. Charles Voegele and Peter Ashdown drove this car at LeMans in 1960 but retired in the 19th hour with a blown engine.

Cast-resin body with cast and etched detail parts, hand-assembled, painted and decaled. Ready to race. Made in France.

GMC19/1 Lola Mk. I #45 LeMans 1960 PAINTED BODY KIT

Cast-resin body kit complete with clear windows and decals.

The LeMans regulations specified a tall glass windshield. With a lower windshield the Lola Mk.I was the last of the successful front-engined 1100cc sports cars in America and in Europe, beating the Lotus 11s and Coopers. Charles Voegele and Peter Ashdown drove this car at LeMans in 1960 but retired in the 19th hour with a blown engine.

The clear windshield in the kit can be cut down to recreate the more common Lola Mk1s that raced in the SCCA modified classes in America.

Analog 132

The hottest cars from Carrera for 2015 are coming later in October. Please get your pre-orders in now.

Carrera 27469 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, “No.03″—PRE-ORDER NOW!

America’s no.1 racing car.

The Chevrolet Corvette C7.R goes on the attack in prestigious races like Daytona and Le Mans with a throbbing 5.5-litre V8 engine. At the wheel is the Corvette works driver, Oliver Gavin. The GT racing version is based on the Corvette C7 Stingray road racer and features plenty of technical innovation.

In the movie LeMans, starring the Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, the Porsche 917 K played a role almost as legendary as that of the actor himself. However, the real life no.2 driven by Jo Siffert and Kurt Aharens was a thoroughbred winner. Its reputation as one of the most successful racing cars of the 1970s was partly earned in the 9-hour race in Kyalami on the African continent, in which the short-tail version of the car proved unbeatable. Overall, the 917 racked up more victories than any other car in the 5-liter class..

Digital 132

This car can be raced on any brand of 1/32 scale analog track. It will, however, only operate on the Carrera Digital 132 system—it will not operate on any other brand of digital.

The car has operating headlights and tail lights.

In ‘the movie LeMans, starring the Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, the Porsche 917 K played a role almost as legendary as that of the actor himself. However, the real life no.2 driven by Jo Siffert and Kurt Aharens was a thoroughbred winner. Its reputation as one of the most successful racing cars of the 1970s was partly earned in the 9-hour race in Kyalami on the African continent, in which the short-tail version of the car proved unbeatable. Overall, the 917 racked up more victories than any other car in the high volume cc class.

This car can be raced on any brand of 1/32 scale analog track. It will, however, only operate on the Carrera Digital 132 system—it will not operate on any other brand of digital.

The car has operating headlights and tail lights.

In ‘the movie LeMans, starring the Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, the Porsche 917 K played a role almost as legendary as that of the actor himself. Its reputation as one of the most successful racing cars of the 1970s was partly earned in the 9-hour race in Kyalami on the African continent, in which the short-tail version of the car proved unbeatable. Overall, the 917 racked up more victories than any other car in the high volume cc class.

Another week and a lot of new arrivals. Short and sweet.Now, let’s see what’s new this week, shall we?

The Week’s Best Slot Car Set!

Why? Because this is the easiest entry into digital racing, with 20-feet of track and two Super Resistant cars, a Lamborghini Aventador and Bugatti Veyron.

Scalextric C1327T Digital Racer Set

C1327T Digital Racer Set

Welcome to the exciting world of Scalextric Digital. This set allows you to race up to four cars at the same time (two cars are provided), performing amazing, realistic overtaking and braking manoeuvres. You can switch lanes at the touch of a button to overtake or block your opponent.

This set includes everything you need to get started with Scalextric Digital – it features a large circuit and comes supplied with two Digital Chip installed cars. Additional digital cars are available or you can easily convert most standard cars to run on digital layouts.

The super resistant Lamborghini Aventador and Bugatti Veyton racers feature easy change pick-ups and the Magnatraction™ system to help them stay on the circuit.

Yes, this is an empty box–NO CARS are included. However, if you want to add to the collector value of the two Slot.it Alfa Romeo 33s (that finished 1-2 in the 1971 Targa Florio), you will want a box for the two cars. Currently only the CA11f Alfa Romeo is in stock—the second car CA11g is due in the spring of 2015.

The Targa Florio Winner 1971 box, CW15-box, is the second release of the “Targa Florio Winners” collectable boxed sets. The Slot It SIKW01 Ferrari 312PB kit two-car set (both cars are easy-assemble kits) was the first “Targa Florio Winners” set.This beautiful new collector’s item consists of a box celebrating glorious Alfa 33’s 1-2 victory in the 1971 edition of the classic Sicilian race.

The box is home for the two Alfa 33: n.5 driven by Vaccarella – Hezemans, (CA11f released in September 2014) and n.2 De Adamich – Van Lennep, (CA11g to be released on February 2015).

Print of the Nicholas Watts famous drawing portraying the winning car is found inside the box itself.

The box comes with no cars and is made in limited numbers. Like all Slot.it limited editions, it will not be reissued.

In 1971, the appeal of the Targa Florio was such that for the first time ever a qualifying session had to take place. Porsche, the defending champion, was racing the super light 908, a mean, lean racing machine weighting 540 Kg, driven by Elford/Larrousse, Siffert/Redman and Rodriguez (Pedro)/Mueller.

Alfa Romeo’s 33/3 was heavier, but more powerful and aerodynamic.

The Ace up Alfa’s sleeve was Nino Vaccarella, winner of the 1965 edition, who “knew the roads of Sicily like the back of his hand” (Vic Elford). He would race with Toine Hezemans, while Alfa’s other cars would be driven by De Adamich/Van Lennep and Stommelen/Kinnunen.

The 1971 race was of particular importance to Vaccarella as his teammate of 1970, Ignazio Giunti, had died in a horrific crash in Buenos Aires and Giunti’s mother was at the race to bestow the trophy named after his son on the winner.

Vaccarella lead the race for three laps before Hezemans took the drive. In the meanwhile, Brian Redman had made a narrow escape when the broken steering sent his Porsche in flames against a wall.

Larrousse and Elford’s Porsche, chasing the Alfa n.5, suffered several punctures and could not eventually pose a threat to Alfa’s triumph, which was completed by the 2nd place of De Adamich and Van Lennep. After he finally drove his n.5 Alfa to victory, Nino Vaccarella received the trophy from the hands of Ignazio Giunti’s mother.

The Targa Florio 1971 painting image is used under license from Mr. Nicholas Watts.

Modelant MO-2 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B 1938 Mille Miglia winner

This car was also raced in America in the early fifties (with a different racing number) by Phil Hill.

Modelant models are limited edition hand-made from high quality polyurethane resin with individual cast and etched details and decals. The model includes a hand-finished wood display box. Production limited to 300 models.

Proto Slot Kit CB087NP Alfa Romeo Giulietta BODY KIT unpainted

Proto Slot Kit CB087NP Alfa Romeo Giulietta BODY KIT unpainted

1/32 scale unpainted hand-made cast-resin body kit. Superb quality and detail. Made in France. Pictures show fully assembled car. The body is designed to fit the Proto Slot Kit KY01 chassis with SR-03 tires and wheels but can be used with many different chassis.

Proto Slot Kit CB087P Alfa Romeo Giulietta BODY KIT PAINTED

1/32 scale painted hand-made cast-resin body kit . Superb quality and detail. Made in France. Pictures show fully assembled car. The body is designed to fit the Proto Slot Kit KY01 chassis with SR-03 tires and wheels but can be used with many different chassis.

Sets

Awesome Race Car Sets

Carrera 30174 Digital 132 “Masters of Speed” Set

Digital 132 with Wireless 2.4gHz controllers, Control Unit and a double lane-change section. The BMW Z4 and Aston Martin V12 Vantage have working headlights, tail lights and brake lights.

9.84 x 6.56 foot area with 24.9-foot lap length

High speed mastery

No question about it; two cars and thrilling races in which every meter counts, indeed – every centimeter! Another question is posed: Can the BMW Z4 GT3 avenge the impressive victory of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 at Silverstone in 2012? The answer’s out on the track, and in the hands of the drivers. There are 7.6 meters of unadulterated excitement, featuring a drive-over, high-speed straights, challenging curves – and the complete operational freedom provided by WIRELESS+. Help the V8 induction engine BMW Z4 GT3 and the V12 front-mounted midship engine Aston Martin V12 to unleash their incredible power potential. A control unit guarantees a real racing sensation, as it allows drivers to set the speed, braking power, and to program a pace car. High speed mastery – put the gas pedal to the floor and feel the raw power as these two racing machines clash for the title of ‘Masters of Speed’.

Ninco 20175 Top Speed race car set

NINCO 1/32 “TOP SPEED” Analog Set (2 Cars)

Over 30 Feet of fast circuit including an elevated crossover section and two Mercedes SLS GT3 Cars. An ideal “starter” set for a beginning racer.

This set comes with everything you need to get started, 30+ feet of track, two high quality 35 Ohm controllers, cars, barriers and crossover supports. Includes twenty curved sections to provide a wide range of really interesting layouts.

Ninco 20176 Top Speed race car set with WICO wireless controllers

NINCO 1/32 WICO “TOP SPEED” Analog Set (2 Cars)

Over 29 Feet of fast circuit including an elevated crossover section and two Mercedes SLS GT3 Cars. An ideal “starter” set for a beginning racer.
With WICO you will see Slot Racing from a new perspective. You are no longer tied to the controller cable! Goodbye tangled wires! Move around the track freely. You no longer need help putting the car back on if you come off the track.

WICO come with the latest 2.4 Ghz technology, a proprietary system of radio control racing, without any interference and with excellent range of control. You can use it with any NINCO analogue track and as always and with any car of any brand. WICO comes with added advantages of the ability to change direction of travel and the ability to choose from two driving levels for beginners or experts.

This set comes with everything you need to get started, 30+ feet of track, two high quality wireless controllers, cars, barriers and crossover supports. Includes twenty curved sections to provide a wide range of really interesting layouts.

Awesome Cars Coming Soon

Scalextric C8433 AC One Powerbase—PRE-ORDER NOW!

Scalextric C8433 AC One Powerbase

Upgrade your existing Scalextric set to ARC ONE!

The C8433 includes a new Powerbase track section and two controllers (to replace your existing Powerbase and Controllers). You can use your existing power supply and, of course, all of your analog cars.

Upgrade your existing analogue Scalextric Set to the new ARC ONE system with the ARC ONE Powerbase, and unlock the power of the revolutionary ARC ONE app.

Scalextric ARC ONE is a revolutionary slot car system that allows you to wirelessly create and manage races with a handheld smart device*, such as a smartphone or tablet. Download the ARC app (free), then connect your device via Bluetooth to the ARC Powerbase, unlocking unique features and control of your races.

Personalise your race by selecting features such as race type, driver names and number of laps. Customise and save your race settings and car setup, before you head out on the track to test your skills and challenge your opponent.

Ever since Monogram introduced its vintage NASCAR stock cars we have fielded questions from customers about how to overcome the shortcomings of the cars’ less-than-stellar chassis design. Along with our responses we have often added the suggestion that the definitive fix for all the problems was simply to deep-six the entire Monogram running chassis and mount the body on a complete Pioneer chassis. When this rather secondhand-looking Monogram Plymouth GTX made its way into our workshop we decided to do the chassis swap for this newsletter. We always thought in terms of using a stretched Mustang chassis, which requires some fabrication. However, we discovered that Pioneer offers a much simpler and more elegant solution. We also had a complete Pioneer Dodge Charger running chassis lying around. When we test fitted it to the Monogram Plymouth body we discovered that all we had to do to make the body and the chassis a perfect fit for each other was to trim 3/32″ off the front edge of the chassis, cut off the Monogram body posts right at the inner surface of the body, and relocate them to match the mounting points on the chassis. That was as simple as screwing the posts to the chassis, putting a drop of medium CA clue on the end of each, and setting the chassis into the body. We put a rubber band around the car to hold body and chassis tightly together until the glue set. Cutting and re-gluing the posts made them slightly shorter, and the body sat at just the right height on the chassis to give the car a perfect stance with no clearance problems anywhere. We then swapped the Monogram wheels onto the new chassis, which required a slight shortening of the front axle for tire / fender clearance. Here’s the final result…

Except for needing a bit of extra length at the rear you would think the chassis was made for the body. In a way, it was, because the Plymouth GTX and the Dodge Charger were essentially the same car under the skin, and both Monogram and Pioneer modeled their cars’ dimensions more or less accurately. Eagle-eyed readers may notice that the rear tires are Maxxtrac M10 silicone slicks, which came on the used GTX and add extra grip on our Scalextric Sport test track. In addition to giving the car a more capable chassis this swap also makes it Scalextric digital plug-ready.

We are aware that the Monogram press-on plastic wheels leave a bit to be desired in the trueness and concentricity department, but we find that for home racing with magnets they work well enough. Non-magnet racers may want to convert to the aftermarket wheels of their choice and turn down the Monogram wheels to serve as inserts.

This whole project took less than an hour and required only simple modeling tools to complete. It is well within the skills of even beginners in the slot car hobby

Pioneer P018 67 Camaro, Penske Racing, Sebring 68. We received this photo of an actual production model of this car, which indicates that its release is not far off. No price yet, but we will let our readers know as soon as possible.

America’s Car Museum, also known as the LeMay Museum, announced today that it will hold a race for 1/32 scale classic TransAm slot cars on October 18-19, 2013. This will be the first in what is intended to become a series of slot car racing events that will cover a wide variety of slot cars modeling all the famous types and eras of life-sized automobile racing. Jeffery Keys, ACM’s Guest Services Manager, says, “We’re excited about having slot car racing events here at the museum. They represent a unique opportunity to recreate auto racing history in miniature and to pay homage to great cars and drivers past and present while providing a lot of fun for participants and spectators alike.”

The October event, to be called the ACM Miniature TransAm Challenge, will be run on two Scalextric Sport 4-lane slot car tracks to be set up for the event in an area adjacent to the museum’s Fun Zone, where its highly detailed Slotmods slot car track and its racing simulators are located. The tracks will be controlled as one 8-lane track by an electronic timing and scoring system and each driver and car will race on each of the 8 lanes of the two tracks.

There will be two racing classes, Stock and Modified, providing two levels of challenge for slot car racers of all skill and experience levels. The rules have been carefully crafted to offer plenty of scope for creativity and ingenuity while keeping the cost of competing well within the reach of all who are interested in entering.

Both in-person and mail-in entries will be accepted. A local slot racing club has agreed to manage all the proxy entries from their arrival through the event until their return to their owners.

The Race Director for the event will be the well-known slot car racing competitor and businessman Alan Smith. He is widely recognized as one of the top slot car race directors in the US.

Entry fee for the event will be $10 per car. All entrants will be limited to one car in each class. All in-person entrants will receive a pass good for admission to the museum for the entire weekend, allowing them to come back on Sunday, October 20, and spend the day exploring the museum’s 4 floors of historic car exhibits.

America’s Car Museum, located in Tacoma Washington, has been open just over one year and is already recognized as one of the premier automobile museums in America and the world. Its exhibits of carefully preserved and restored cars cover the panorama of automobile history from the first horseless carriages to today’s exotic supercars. For more information on ACM, visit the museum’s web site at http://www.lemaymuseum.org.

Additional Event Details

Tracks: 2 Scalextric Sport tracks, 4 lanes each, all controlled by one DS timing and scoring system and operating as one 8-lane track.

Controllers: Basic Professor Motor home/club racing controllers (no adjustments) will be installed on each lane and must be used by all competitors. Our thanks to Professor Motor for providing these controllers.

Classes:

Group 1 – Box-stock Trans Am

Eligible cars: 1/32 scale Scalextric 1969 Camaro, 1969/70 Mustang, 1970 Camaro; Pioneer 1967/68 Mustang notchback and Camaro. Scalextric Dodge Challenger and Mercury Cougar will also be eligible if they are available for sale to the public before September 15, 2013.

Spec rear tire: Maxxtrac X-compound. All cars must use the spec tire. A pair of these tires will be provided free of charge (courtesy of Professor Motor) to each entrant and will be installed on the car at initial tech inspection.

Allowable modifications:

Magnetic downforce: Cars will be weighed on a digital scale then placed on a Magnet Marshal. The difference between the scale reading and the Magnet Marshal reading may not exceed 220 grams.

Magnet may be shimmed to adjust magnetic downforce to a maximum of 220 grams. Magnet must be placed in the stock location immediately forward of the motor.

Body screws may be loosened for body float.

Braid may be replaced with braid of the same size but alternate material. (In other words, copper braid can be used on all cars.)

Cars may be repainted for easier identification and entrants are encouraged to do so to avoid having a field of look-alike cars. Repaints do not have to be painted as specific real cars but liveries should look period-appropriate. A car painted in a single overall color with racing numbers is all that is required to be period-appropriate.

NO OTHER MODIFICATIONS ARE ALLOWED!

Group 2 – Modified TransAm

Eligible cars: All Group 1 cars. In addition, 1/32 scale cars with period and series-correct injection molded or resin-cast bodies of cars raced in the TransAm series between 1966 and 1972 will be allowed. All cars must use the chassis of one of the Group-1-legal cars. The chassis may be lengthened or shortened to fit the body by making a single transverse cut and either adding or removing material. Chassis may also be lengthened by splicing together front and rear sections of two of an eligible chassis. See list of eligible bodies. Front and rear wheel openings must be properly centered on the wheels.

Chassis, motor, and running gear:

All stock components from any of the Group 1-eligible cars may be freely substituted for each other. This means, for example, that a car can use a Pioneer chassis, a Scalextric motor, and a mix of Pioneer and Scalextric wheels, axles, and gears.

Spec rear tire: Maxxtrac X-compound. Cars must use the spec tire. This will be the same tire as for Group 1. A pair of these tires will be provided free of charge to each entrant and will be installed on the car at initial tech inspection.

Magnetic downforce specifications are the same as for Group 1 as described above. Magnet must be placed on the upper surface of the chassis forward of the motor. Only one magnet may be used.

Any guide, braid, and lead wire may be used. Guide adapters, such as B-nova may be used.

Wheels/tires may be spaced outward to the above limits or to the maximum width allowed by the body, whichever is less.

Body screws may be loosened for body float.

Chassis perimeter may be trimmed but not extended (except by altering wheelbase as described above) to fit the body being used and/or to allow free body float.

NO OTHER COMPONENTS OR MODIFICATIONS ARE ALLOWED!

Body:

Any eligible body may be used on any eligible chassis. The stock body mounting points on the chassis must be used. The body’s mounting posts may be moved to fit.

Body screws may be loosened for body float. Bodies from cars that incorporate parts of the body into the chassis may have those parts cut from the chassis and attached to the body. Body parts may be cut from a chassis to allow fitting of an alternate body.

Body must cover wheels and tires completely when viewed from the top, including axle float.

Fenders and wheel openings may not be modified. Body can be raised on chassis but not lowered beyond a period-correct height. Any car deemed by the organizers to have its body sitting lower over the chassis than would have been seen on a TA car in the day will be required to add spacers to raise it to a period-correct height.

Full-depth interiors may be cut down into a tray interior or may be replaced by an injection-molded or resin-cast tray interior. Vacuum-formed interiors are not allowed. All interiors must retain a roll bar/roll cage and an injection-molded or resin-cast racing driver figure with at least head, shoulders, arms, hands, and steering wheel.

Body must have windshield and rear window and any other period-correct windows in place. Vacuum-formed windows may be used only on resin-cast bodies.

Eligible body list: In addition to the bodies of all the Group 1 cars the following bodies will be allowed in Group 2.

Carrera

66 Mustang convertible (if converted to notchback hardtop)

Carrera

69 Camaro

Carrera

70 Hemi Cuda

Monogram/Revell

66 Barracuda ( also Aurora)

Monogram/Revell

69 Camaro snap kit

Monogram/Revell

70 Mustang snap kit

Monogram/Revell

71 Firebird

Revell

67 Camaro

Revell

67 Cougar

Revell

68 Barracuda

Revell

68 Firebird

Revell

68 Javelin (AMX is NOT allowed)

RMS Resins

63 Falcon

RMS Resins

66 Barracuda

RMS Resins

66 Mustang

RMS Resins

67 Cougar

RMS Resins

68 Barracuda

RMS Resins

68 Firebird

RMS Resins

68 Javelin

RMS Resins

70 Barracuda

RMS Resins

70 Camaro

RMS Resins

70 Challenger

RMS Resins

70 Firebird

SCX

70 Barracuda

Bodies not on this list may be submitted for possible inclusion.

Event schedule October 18-19, 2013

Friday 5pm-9pm Registration, tech inspection, and open practice for all entrants

Saturday 9am-11am Registration, tech inspection, and open practice for all entrants

Saturday 11am All cars placed in impound. Final inspection of cars from 11am to noon

There will be trophies (configuration not yet determined) for the top 3 finishers in each class. There will be additional prizes and awards TBA.

All entrants will receive an ACM cap and an ACM lanyard for their museum pass.

Entry fee: $10 per car.

Additional:

The museum’s Slotmods track will not be used for racing, but it will be available during Friday evening open practice as a photo backdrop for entrants wishing to photograph their cars on it.

All entrants will receive a pass good for admission to the museum for the entire weekend, including Sunday, so they will have the entire day on Sunday to explore and enjoy the museum.

It is the intention of the race organizers to have the racing concluded by the museum’s closing time at 5pm on Saturday, but if necessary the race will run past that time so it can be completed on Saturday.

Each entrant will be limited to one car in each class. In case of a very high number of entries, the number of entries accepted for each of the two classes may be limited. All entries will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because of time constraints there will be no qualifying. In each of the two class races, each entry will rotate across all 8 racing lanes. Starting lanes will be assigned by a random procedure, though race officials may place lookalike cars into the rotation to avoid having more than one on the track at a time as much as possible. Lane rotation scheme TBA.

Mail-in (proxy) entries will be accepted for this event. Racing of the mail-in entries will be managed by a local club that will receive cars, provide drivers, and return the cars to their owners. All mail-in cars will be inspected and track- tested before the race to ensure that they have arrived in good condition. The mailing address is TBA. Cars must be received no later than October 12, 2013.

All entrants in the modified class will be required to fill out a spec sheet listing the components used in building their cars. This information will be published on the Internet, at an official location to be determined, where it will be available to the general public. The form will be provided on line so mail-in entrants can submit their completed spec sheets with their cars and on-site entrants can fill it out in advance.

The two Scalextric Sport tracks for this event will be provided by 132 Slotcar (www.132slotcar.us) and by Lighthouse Christian Center of Puyallup, WA. Our thanks go to these two organizations for their participation in this event.

It’s that time of year again when the manufacturers unveil their new product offerings for the year. Here are the highlights so far.

BRM Slot presents a 1/24 scale McLaren F1 GTR in two liveries

Carrera has, as usual, a raft of new releases…

How about a 1/32 scale Porsche 904?

Looking at these two new cars reminds us of just how right Monogram got the same car 50 years ago. But there’s a bit of bad news. According to published information the 904s will be available only in race sets this year. Bummer. We will investigate further to see if that’s really true.

Here’s another livery for the popular Carrera 1/24 scale Porsche 917.

And the 1/24 scale Cheetah.

Plus a 1/24 scale Ferrari 250 GTO.

Speaking of Ferraris, the really big announcement from Carrera this year is…

A Ferrari 512S in red…

And in yellow. You just knew they would make something for their Porsche 917s to race with.

If you like vintage touring cars on steroids this Alfa should please you. We would prefer it without the wing.

Carrera is commemorating a vac-body car from decades ago with a kandy-kolor livery on its 1/32 scale Cobra. It may seem a bit garish to some but we have seen 1:1 race cars painted in color schemes like this over the years and they can be quite attractive. Just add numbers to the doors and a sponsor decal or three.

If you prefer something more traditional Carrera is also offering this Cobra livery in 1/32 scale.

Or this new 1/32 scale Cheetah livery.

This new Ferrari is a 1/43 scale car.

These two 1967 Mustang fastbacks in 1/32 scale are supposed to be vintage road race cars, but they stick up so far into the stratosphere they would look ridiculous on any road course. This…

Is what they should look like. Come on, Carrera, get it right!

Flyslot is not showing anything really new, but here are two interesting cars from their display.

This new Kremer CK5, along with an all-black one, is making its way onto dealers’ shelves as this is being written.

Flyslot has been showing this Ferrari 512BB prototype for some time now, but we expect it to be in production fairly soon.

Slot It’s new McLaren M8D is no longer a secret, but they are showing it in two liveries at the show.

Dan Gurneys 1970 race winner and…

The “Led Zeppelin” car from Europe’s Interserie. Here’s a shot of the full-sized car in action.

MSC is showing a new Pantera…

In Jagermeister colors. Is there any kind of European car Jagermeister hasn’t sponsored?

NSR is displaying these two Porsche 917s with the tail fins as used in 1971.

Scale Auto has two new SRT Vipers, one in 1/24 scale…

And one in 1/32 scale.

As well as…

An Interscope Porsche 935

And a Jagermeister Porsche 935. No, there probably isn’t any kind of European car Jagermeister hasn’t sponsored.

We will have all the new 2013 cars from all the manufacturers up for preorder as soon as we receive the necessary information.

We want to inform our customers of the postage price increase which took effect January 27th. The US Postal Service has raised their rates across the board, and we have to follow. These rates especially affect our first class mail international services. If you have any questions about shipping costs or shipping options to your location please contact our warehouse at (310)676-7600 or shop@electricdreams.com.

This updated DS light bridge is designed with adjustable lane spacing. This means that it replaces all the 2-lane light bridges in the DS product line. You can now buy one light bridge and use it with any track system. If you change from one track system to another all you do is re-adjust the sensor spacing; you don’t need to buy a new light bridge.

A new slot car manufacturer, Slot Racing Company (SRC) has announced itself to the world. Photos of some of their projects have been making the rounds of the slot car web sites

From top to bottom:

Test shots of a 1/32 scale Porsche 907 body in both long and short tail versions. According to one US distributor who has been contacted by SRC their sports car models, which will be made in injection-molded plastic, will retail in the US for around $100, putting them in the same price range as NSR cars.

Prototype parts for a 1/32 scale 80s F1 car. SRC’s most ambitious plan is to produce a series of 70s and 80s F1 cars with resin bodies. Note the unusual motor pod design and the metal wheels.

Two prototype F1 bodies. The F1 cars are expected to retail in the US for around $250, putting them in the same price range as resin Racer cars as well as many other resin-bodied slot cars by “boutique” slot car makers. These cars appear to be engineered to a higher standard than most boutique cars, which typically consist of a resin body on some kind of generic chassis. There are few details about chassis and running gear, but if these cars look and run like a Racer car, which uses Slot It mechanicals, they may be worth the price, One concern, however, has to be all the fragile appendages, such as wings, found on F1 cars. How resin F1 bodies will stand up to the perils of any kind of real racing will definitely affect the price/value equation for anybody but collectors who will never run the cars. It seems to us that SRC would do better to make the cars in plastic at $100 retail and make sure lots of spare body parts are available.

Scalextric C1288T Start Star Wars Battle of Endor race set – $149.99. The perfect gift for the little Jedi Knight in your family. Well, we hope he’s a little Jedi Knight. Our sympathies to you if he’s more like a Storm Trooper.

We’ve all been waiting for hard news about the future plans of Pioneer Models, which has been going through a long, difficult process of establishing its own factory after having too many bad experiences with contractor factories in China. We have it on good authority from Pioneer USA that the first shipments of cars from the new factory are expected to arrive on these shores sometime in October.. These should be the first of the new and much anticipated Camaro models. Pioneer says that with the entire manufacturing process under its own control, from initial research to final distribution it will be able to bring out new models much more quickly. The Legends cars and the 1971 Javelin are expected to follow the Camaro in rapid succession. Meanwhile, Pioneer is now showing on its web site the first official drawing of the Chevy Legends car.

We will pass on to you any additional information as we receive it. For now, however, the end of the long drought of Pioneer cars is in sight, for which we can all rejoice. Electric Dreams wishes Julian Birley and all the gang at Pioneer all success and we congratulate them upon the imminent completion of their new factory.

New NSR 2mm axles, bushings, and gears.

NSR has released and we have received 2mm diameter axles along with bushings and spacers to fit them. Apparently, the level of competition in European racing has reached the point where reducing the axle diameter by .4mm or so is worth the effort for even the tiny incremental weight reduction this allows. NSR has also released a line of very lightweight plastic spur gears with metal hubs for both 2mm and 3/32″ axles, but there have been immediate reports of these gears failing due to improper design. We received a shipment of these gears but we will not be putting them on line for sale until we are certain the problem is resolved. We may end up returning all of them for replacement with improved gears.

Arrow Slot cars are designed to compete with Slot It, Avant Slot, NSR, and similar cars developed for high-end organized open competition. They are powered by Scale Auto motors and feature a podded rear end, aluminum wheels, and other pro-racing features.

We build a Monogram Lola T70 the way Monogram should have built it to begin with

You may recall an article we did some time ago in which we corrected the principal shortcomings of the Monogram Lola T70. We got the body down out of the stratosphere and solved the problem of insufficient clearance under the spur gear.

We not only made the car look better; we also turned it into a pretty decent runner. Still, we couldn’t help thinking that the whole chassis should have been designed differently to begin with, especially in regard to the magnet installation. What we really wanted was a car that would run with our highly successful modified Fly classic cars. So, we thought, why not just put the Monogram Lola body on a Fly chassis? It wouldn’t be the first time we had rebuilt a car around a Fly chassis. We had previously done it with a Spirit Porsche 936, totally transforming the car.

We have lots of different chassis floating around the shop, including several of the Fly classics, so we took a body off a Monogram 85-4826 George Follmer Lola and began test fitting chassis to it. The Fly Ferrari 512S chassis, we discovered, is a near-perfect fir for the Lola body. It needed only some trimming at the front, a new body mount at the rear, and two new front mounts to match the position of the body’s front mounting posts to look like body and chassis were made for each other. The chassis also needed a very slight change in the wheelbase, but we noticed that both the front and rear wheels fell withing the body’s wheel openings, just not quite centered. So, instead of cutting up the chassis we decided to do a little work on the rear wheel openings instead, moving the center of the rear wheel openings slightly aft to accommodate the wheelbase of the chassis.

Here you see what we’ve done to alter the rear wheel openings. We CA glued in pieces of strip styrene and used a Moto-tool to shape them to the desired configuration. We have made the wheel opening smaller; it fits more snugly around the rear tires while still giving adequate clearance.

With the trimming, filling, and sanding done and a coat of paint on the body this is how it looks. The wheels and tires are spares for a Fly BMW 3.5CSL.

The Fly Ferrari chassis shown here with the new rear body mount made from sheet styrene and mounted by drilling the screw hole for securing the motor pod to the chassis and using a 4-40 machine screw and nut. You can also see the new front body mounts, made from styrene tubing, as well as our standard Fly classic car modifications – replacing the stock gears with Scalextric ones and notching the pod to accept a bar magnet in place of the original cylindrical magnet. The blue tape around the magnet serves to make the magnet a tight fit and also to allow the magnet to be shimmed up or down slightly to adjust magnetic downforce when equalizing the car’s performance with other cars for closer racing. Also visible are the Slot It guide and the Pioneer 21K motor we swapped into the car. Neither requires any modifications to install. We had to cut a little out of the bottom of the interior tub to clear the magnet installation. Note that the Fly BMW wheels and tires are wider at both front and rear than the original Monogram wheels. Note also the trimming at the front of the chassis. At this point all that needs to be done to complete the running chassis is to install lead wires and braid.

The pod modification for the bar magnet is seen here. From left to right, the stock pod, the pod with the notch for the bar magnet cut into it, and the pod with the bar magnet in place. This modification does not prevent the original cylindrical magnet from being swapped back in if desired, but you won’t want to. Th bar magnet gives plenty of downforce with improved drivability. Note that the bar magnet is centered on the socket for the cylindrical magnet, which centers it on the car as a whole.

Here’s a closeup of the rear of the chassis showing the new body mount, the Scalextric gears, and the Pioneer motor. Note how the body mount is shaped to fit snugly into the pod so it can’t move when the nut is tightened down. The asymmetrical design of the pod places the mounting holes in the correct position to line up with the body posts.

The body and interior are completely stock except for removing a bit of material from under the left side of the carburetor detail to clear the endbell and a little trimming of the bottom edge of the radiator air outlet to clear the top of the guide post, as well as the mod to the interior tub described above. We did replace the driver’s head with one in a full-face helmet. Overall body color is Testor Boyd’s True Blue Pearl Metallic over pale gray primer. We made the Kitt’y’s Guns and Ammo, Kalashnikitty, and ASR decals on an HP Photosmart inkjet printer. The rest of the decals are odds and ends from our decal box. The BBS wheels, wider tires, and the full-face driver’s helmet give the car the look of a Lola being campaigned in Sports Car Club of America amateur racing in the 70s or 80s. Such cars were always under continuing development with updated components throughout their active racing careers, and some raced into the 90s before being restored to their original specifications to begin a new life as vintage racers.

The Fly chassis as we have modified it makes the Lola quick, good-handling, and drivable on our Scalextric Sport track, even with the stock Fly tires. Available aftermarket tires will give it even m,ore grip. Monogram Lola bodies are available separately on the the Electric Dreams web site so you don’t need to buy a whole car to get the body.

We’ve reduced prices by 20% on many of our LeMans Miniatures assembled cars and kits. LMM assembled cars feature resin-cast bodies and are hand-built by skilled modelers. LMM kits are an exceptional value because each one includes all the parts necessary to build up into a complete running car for about the same price as many other boutique kits that include only the body. Now is the time to complete your collection of LeMans winners and contenders while supplies last at these low prices. You can see the entire range of sale-priced LMM cars in our Sale Items category beginning at http://www.electricdreams.com/Shop/sale-items-great-values-c-335.html?page=12&sort=20a.

The Electric Dreams Top 40

Part 4 – The Top Ten!

No. 10. Scalextric C2711 Jaguar XKR TransAm, Paul Gentilozzi. The first of the Scalextric TA Jaguars and arguably the best looking of the lot. The chassis also makes a great kitbashing platform.

No. 9. Scalextric C2605 NASCAR Chevy Monte Carlo, all white. All-white cars are perennial good sellers because of the ease with which custom-painters can use them in creating their own masterpieces.

No. 8. Scalextric C2896 1970 Camaro TransAm car, Jim Hall / Vic Elford. The classic TransAm series and the Chaparral legend combine to create an irresistible American racing icon. The graphics on this car epitomize the liveries of the era.

No. 7. Autoart 13571 Jaguar C-Type, 1953 LeMans winner. There is nothing like a 50s sports car for sheer grace of form. Back then body design was as much an art as a science, if not more so. Race cars have been getting progressively uglier ever since race car constructors discovered wind tunnels.

No. 6. Carrera 20206 Ferrari 330P4, 2nd place LeMans 1967. If this car doesn’t have the most sensuous body shape ever put on a race car it must surely be on a very short list of candidates. And as a protagonist in the epic Ford-Ferrari battles at LeMans in 1966-67 it is the essence of motor sports history.

No. 5. Scalextric C2451 1969 Camaro TransAm car, white. The first and still the only pre-1970 Camaro TA car. In all its many liveries, including plain white, this car has to be a candidate for the best-selling car of the modern era despite the shortcomings of its body shape. The all-white one has been the best selling version, not surprising given the popularity of custom painting.

No. 4. Scalextric C2595 Ford Taurus #97 Sharpie. We had the foresight to pick up a zillion of these when they were in production and we have been selling them ever since. The pre-COT NASCARs are getting harder to come by, but we still have them and they are still very popular with all the hobbyists who never liked the COT in all its permutations.

No. 3. Scalextric C2650 Dallara IRL Dan Wheldon 2005 Indy 500 winner. We bought lots of these, too, just because it was an Indy 500 winner and we guessed it would be hard to go wrong with it. Since Dan Wheldon’s unfortunate passing it has become even more in demand – certainly not a circumstance we would have wished for but still a prime example of how events can affect the market for slot cars.

No. 2. Monogram 85-4855 Greenwood Corvette. The Monogram Greenwood Corvettes are a curious phenomenon. The Greenwood “Batmobile” is a car you would shoot an on-track video of and then put it on You Tube with a Two Steps From Hell track playing in the background. It’s the all-time king of Corvettes, and Monogram’s models of it are gorgeously executed. Not only that, but with a couple of simple tuning tweaks they are rocket fast on any kind of plastic track. So, it always mystified us why we have been able to buy boatloads of them at bargain prices and pass the savings on to our customers. We can’t believe they just didn’t sell to begin with. We never had a problem moving them. So, we can only guess that either Revellogram grossly overestimated the market or some employee accidentally typed an extra zero into the quantity box on the order to the factory in China.

And finally…

No.1. Monogram 85-4857 Greenwood Corvette. Yup, another Monogram Greenwood. Aside from its looks and legendary history, what makes this slot car cool is that it really is easy to make into a great performer. The key is those ginormously wide rear tires. You just true them up, remove the stock magnet, and glue an aftermarket bar magnet to the bottom of the chassis just forward of the rear axle, and the car corners like a banshee without being so stuck down you don’t have to drive it. You don’t even need aftermarket tires. It’s a blast to drive on our Scalextric Sport track. If you don’t have one of these cars — or two or three or six — you owe it to yourself. And you can’t beat the price.

And a bonus– the Number One seller of all the products on our web site:

Our warehouse will be closed on July 26 and 27. All orders placed by Wednesday, July 25th by 9am PST will go out that day. All orders after that will be shipped starting the following Monday, July 30. Technical Support will remain available via e-mail and phone as usual.

A member of the Electric Dream Team recently visited the newly-opened LeMay Museum (America’s Car Museum) in Tacoma, Washington. The museum has an amazing 4-lane Slotmods track. We will give you a photo tour of the track, showing you the unique layout and all the exquisitely modeled scenery.

Have you ever wondered what the top-selling slot cars are? We can’t give you rankings for the whole slot car industry but we can tell you what our top 40 are since 2006 when we put our present inventory control system into operation. Today we reveal numbers 31 through 40.

We have just received a massive shipment of Scalextric W-numbered parts. It includes many parts we have never had available to us before, including parts for quite a few cars released in the lady year or so. It also includes a lot of parts we had been told were discontinued but now turn out not to be. We are working to get these parts on line with illustrations as rapidly as possible but it will probably be at least a week to two weeks before we complete the task. In any case, check our web site frequently for new additions. There’s a good chance we’ll be offering that crucial Scalextric part you have been looking for but nobody seems to have.

Paint test

You’ll recall that a couple of newsletters ago we showed you a Fly Lola T70 body we were going to use to test samples of a new paint line for possible inclusion in our selection of items for sale. Alas, the paint did not test out well, so we will not be adding it. However, we still had the body, so we decided to go ahead and paint and decal it anyway. Here’s where we are on it as of today.

The paint is just an airbrushed overall bright red lacquer. The white stripe is cut with a very sharp hobby knife from plain white decal paper. The numbers and other markings are odds and ends from our decal box. Still left to do are a few more decals, some detail painting, and clear coating. More to come.